You won't be disappointed!

Great Film overall

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Returning from World War I service are millionaire John Gilbert (as Jerry Seevers) and comic relief pal El Brendel (as Axel "Swede" Axelson). Mr. Gilbert aches for pretty fiancée Madge Evans (as Anne), but she has fallen in love with another man. An alcoholic, Gilbert begins a serious binge. He attaches himself to beautiful but poor blonde Lois Moran (as Dot), who is looking for millionaire companionship. Gilbert continues drinking heavily, proposes to Ms. Moran, and the two are quickly married...The next morning, Gilbert wakes up with the shakes. He offers Moran a generous settlement to end the "gin marriage," but she says she really loves Gilbert. Moran began as a gold-digger, but has now fallen in love with Gilbert. She pledges to save the marriage, win Gilbert's love, and help him his battle with the bottle. Gilbert flees to his ranch, and Moran follows. The couple is further challenged when he reveals a secret, and she attracts attention from Gilbert's ranch foreman Ralph Bellamy (as Mac)...The scene played between Mr. Brendel and Chinese cook Willie Fung (as Wing) is more jaw-dropping than side-splitting. Watch as the two heavily accented men cure indigestion by rubbing each other's bellies, then socking each other in the genitals. The comic elements seriously drag this interesting drama down; possibly, Brendel was included to highlight Gilbert's relatively deep, masculine voice. Otherwise, this film isn't hazardous. Gilbert was given Brendel, a good part, and an attractive vis-à-vis.***** West of Broadway (11/28/31) Harry Beaumont ~ John Gilbert, Lois Moran, El Brendel, Ralph Bellamy

West of Broadway (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A rather strange drama from MGM about Jerry Seevers (John Gilbert), a man returning from WWI where he was injured and the doctors give him just six months to live. He spends most of his nights in a bottle but things start to change when he "orders" a woman (Lois Moran) and the two are married while he's drunk. At first Jerry wants a divorce but the woman has fallen in love with him and plans to break him from alcohol. If you know anything about this era of Hollywood then you know the legendary stories of Gilbert who was given bottom of the barrel roles at MGM and you've probably heard about his horrible talking voice. If you've actually seen any of the pictures from this era you're going to realize that they really aren't as bad as their reputation and there's really nothing wrong with Gilbert's voice. Is WEST OF Broadway a forgotten masterpiece? Not even close but it's certainly a lot better than its reputation would have you believe. I think the biggest thing going against the film is that the Gilbert character never really gets fully developed. When he meets the young woman he's kind as can be but of course he's drunk. He sobers up the next morning and turns into a complete jerk and I must admit that I never really bought this difference in him and it's really never explained. The entire bit about him dying is only occasionally brought up and at times you wonder if the screenwriter simply forgot about it as it comes in and out of the story without too much logic. The film works better than it probably should due to the two leads and their chemistry together. Whether it's the early cute stuff, the more dramatic moments or the predictable "turn" in the story, the two stars are completely believable in their parts and especially when they're working together as this troubled couple. I thought Gilbert was pretty strong playing the alcoholic and especially in the scenes where he's battling the addiction. The supporting cast includes a wasted Ralph Bellamy playing a cowboy, El Brendel, Madge Evans and Hedda Hopper. The story really doesn't contain anything too original or ground-breaking but it's worth viewing due to the performances and that it does actually look at alcoholism in a serious manor, which wasn't always the case with Hollywood. It's funny that this dramatic look at Hollywood would help finish off the career of Gilbert while another silent legend in D.W. Griffith would have his career end the same year with THE STRUGGLE, another film taking a serious look at alcoholism.

An alcoholic millionaire heads WEST OF BROADWAY to his Arizona ranch to shake off the paid date he married during a drunken binge.According to cinematic legend, all the talkie MGM films starring John Gilbert were dreadful - the result of a bitter hatred between Gilbert (the highest paid star in Hollywood, with a $1.5 million contract) & studio boss Louis B. Mayer. A determination on Gilbert's part to fulfill the contract, and a campaign instituted by Mayer to destroy Gilbert's career - including spreading the rumor that Gilbert's voice was `high & feminine', culminated in several unwatchable movies.Not entirely true. The Studio had a huge financial investment in Jack Gilbert and was not going to completely cut its own throat by showcasing him in nothing but dreck. However, of the 8 MGM talkies in which he appeared as solo star (1929 - HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT; 1930 - REDEMPTION; WAY FOR A SAILOR; 1931 - GENTLEMAN'S FATE; THE PHANTOM OF PARIS; WEST OF BROADWAY; 1932 - DOWNSTAIRS; 1933 - FAST WORKERS) most were certainly rather ghastly. WEST OF BROADWAY, however, was quite decent, and, indeed, fully representative of the material the studio was producing in 1931.Gilbert gives a dignified performance, with the occasional flash of talent that shows what he might have been capable of had MGM worked harder to give him better material. He is given excellent support by pert Lois Moran, who puts real honesty into her portrayal of a poor girl who grabs her only chance of happiness.El Brendel, popular dialect comedian of the period, gets some much needed laughs out of his pseudo-Swedish role, although his bizarre tickling sequence with house boy Willie Fung is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Lovely Madge Evans as the woman who jilts Gilbert, Ralph Bellamy as a noble cowboy, Hedda Hopper as a society snob & Gwen Lee as a floozy all do well with their supporting roles. Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited John Miljan as an obnoxious cad.The film is helped immensely by outdoor location filming during the ranch scenes.Finally, about The Voice. There was nothing at all strange or unnaturally high about Gilbert's voice. As a matter of fact, it was of medium range & rather cultured & refined. Which was the crux of the problem, of course. While it is possible that no voice could have ever matched the perfect one viewers heard in their minds while watching his strong, virile silent roles, the reality was very different from what they wanted to hear (imagine Robert Montgomery's voice coming out of Clark Gable's mouth.) Gilbert was doomed from his first scene in his debut talkie; his war with Mayer only intensified the agony. He would die in 1936, forgotten by most of his former fans, at the age of only 36.

I'm always leery about a plot that begins with a drunk marrying a girl for almost no reason, only to find out the next day what a mistake it was. And the plot gets worse as people seem to behave without reason. I couldn't believe a minute of the film. (Preview audiences laughed at the goings on.) Still, it is a good film to watch if only to dispel any myths about Gilbert's voice being the cause of his demise as a star in the sound era. His voice is not high-pitched or squeaky (which I had heard) but is rather strong, low-pitched and quite good. You could see he still was an excellent actor. Beautiful Lois Moran was excellent as Gilbert's co-star; I wondered why she virtually quit making movies after 1931. There was one comedy scene I liked, with El Brendel and Willie Fung speaking their broken English and trying to understand each other. Otherwise, even the comedy relief, mostly supplied by El Brendel, was pretty bad.